More People Attended Super Bowl Than Voted In Colo., Minn., Or Nevada

By AMY BINGHAM

Feb. 10, 2012

Chris Schneider/AP Photo

The GOP presidential race has dominated the airwaves, the nightly news and the late-night comedy stages for months, but this battle is far from over. Less than 1 percent of the county has actually cast a ballot in a Republican primary or caucus so far, eight of which took place in the past month.

While the first three contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina saw record turnouts, participation has plummeted for the last five.

About 280,000 Florida voters stayed home this year compared with the last presidential primary. Turnout was down by 11,000 in Nevada and Minnesota and Colorado: Each saw participation fall by 4,000.

Here's a few things that more people turned out for than a GOP primary or caucus:

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A flag is seen on the field prior to Super Bowl XLIV, Feb. 7, 2010, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

The Super Bowl

The biggest game in American sports posted the lowest attendance numbers in six years, but more people still went to the Super Bowl than voted in the Colorado, Minnesota, Nevada Republican primaries.

More than 68,000 people packed into Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium to watch the New York Giants defeat the New England Patriots last Sunday.

Two days later and 2,000 miles away less than half that many people turned out to vote in the Nevada primary. About 33,000 Nevadans cast a ballot in Tuesday's primary, about 11,000 less than voted in the state's GOP 2008 primary.

About 66,000 Colorado Republicans hit the polls, and in Minnesota a mere 48,000 people voted in Tuesday's primary.

Apparently, the pull of fried butter and Ferris wheels was stronger than that of polling booths and civic duty in Iowa this year. Nearly 10 times as many people attended the Iowa State Fair in August as voted in the Iowa Republican caucus last month.

About 122,000 Iowans cast their ballots in the first-in-the-nation caucus, a record turnout. But more than 1 million people attended the Hawkeye State's fair.

Missouri's GOP contest may get the name "primary," but with no delegates awarded and no binding votes, Tuesday's competition is more often called a "beauty contest."

Rick Santorum got more votes in Missouri's "meaningless" primary on Tuesday than any of the seven GOP candidates on the ballot at the Iowa caucuses got combined.

Nearly 140,000 people cast their ballot for Santorum in the Missouri primary, about 20,000 more people than turned out for the Iowa caucuses.

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Carl Edwards driver of the #99 Scott's/Kellogg's Ford leads a pack of cars down the front stretch during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, March 6, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Attended a NASCAR Race

Turnout at the Nevada caucus was far lower in 2012 than it was in 2008, falling by 11,000 voters. Only 33,000 voters turned out for the Nevada caucus this year, a fraction as many as turn out for NASCAR races at Las Vegas' Motor Speedway.

About 140,000 people attended NASCAR's Sprint Cup last March, four times as many people as turned out their state's Republican caucus.

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A sign lets voters know they can cast early ballots for the Floriday primary election at the South Creek Branch Library Jan. 27, 2012 in Orlando, Florida.

Voted Early in Florida

More Floridians cast their ballots before the Florida polls even opened than voted in the entire South Carolina primary. About 630,000 Floridians voted through early voting and absentee ballots, about 30,000 more than voted in the South Carolina primary, despite record turnout.

About 146,000 more South Carolinians went to the polls last month than turned out for the 2008 primary, boosting turnout to 602,000.

Maine is the only state that tallies Republican primary votes before the GOP race floats into the February "dead zone," where no votes will be cast for more than two weeks. If turnout is comparable to 2008, more voters will have voted for Michele Bachmann, the first Republican candidate to bow out of the race, in Iowa than will vote in the entire Maine caucus.

About 6,000 Iowans picked Bachmann in the first-in-the-nation caucus, about 500 more than voted in the 2008 Maine caucus.